Over time, I realised that I have to do what appeals to me: Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan talks about how she decides to zero in on a project, her strategy, her Indian appeal and more.

Vidya says that there are days and times when you feel insecure and vulnerable as actors. (Rohan Shrestha)

Vidya Balan has been part of various genres of films in her career so far. The actor is someone who has also experimented with different kinds of subjects in films such as The Dirty Picture (2011), Kahaani (2012), Kahaani 2 (2016), and the latest, Begum Jaan.

On asking if she signs a script that appeals to her as an actor, or if it is purely based on factors that would entice the audience, the actor says that she makes the decision of signing a film only when the story appeals to her.

“Over time, I realised that I have to do what appeals to me. If I think I will do a film that will appeal to 100 people, it is possible that the way it turns out, it may not appeal to even one person. So I have to do what appeals to one person and then hope that if I do it with conviction it will appeal to a 100. That’s been my strategy throughout, if you can call that a strategy. Yet, I am saying I am human. There are days and times when you feel insecure and vulnerable as actors,” says the Paa (2009) actor.

She further adds that the decision to do a film is “extremely personal”. “I don’t take anyone’s advice. A script has to excite and challenge me. I want to play a different person with every role that I take up. I want to tell a different story each time. Sometimes it may work, sometime it will not work. There is no formula,” says Vidya, who will play an RJ in Tumhari Sulu.

Some of the characters that Vidya Balan has essayed on screen have been quite rooted and earthy, and have always had an old-world charm. Ask her if she is offered roles that exude a strong Indian appeal, partly owing to her off-screen persona, and she says, “I think [it] may be so. I am physically very Indian.

Also, I like everything Indian. I don’t know how to describe it. I am shamelessly patriotic. There are people who know this about me and rib me unnecessarily, knowing that it will irritate me. I take great pride in being an Indian because we are a great nation with a great history, heritage, culture and values. Also, I veer towards the kind of films that are reflective of the Indian story or the Indian ethos. I love our stories. I am trying to find the answer to what you have asked me. I think it comes most naturally to me, maybe because I romanticise everything Indian,” explains Vidya.